Improvement in lubricators



tntrdffiatr-a iwl @lll-lili@ DARWIN LANSON- GREENE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 104,139, dated June 14, 1870.

Y IMPROVEMENT IN LUBRICATORS.

Theschedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making peut of the same To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, DARWIN ALANsoN GREENE, oi` the city and county of NewYork, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Oil-Cocks or Lubricators; and l'do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact descrption thereof.

My invention is intended `more particularly for introducing oil into the steam-chests of steam-engines, but v1t maybe used in any situation where oil or other uid requires to be introduced into a chamber or space against a pressure of air or analogous duid.

It haslong been common to provide devices in which, by the aid of two' or more cocks, a quantily of voil is tirst introduced into a chamber free from pressure, and there, being excluded from connection with external air,'and put in'communicatiou with the steamchest or chamber containing a pressure, the oil is` allowed to ow down by its own gravity into the steamchest, while the steam comes upv and takes its place.

I accomplish this effectually and satisfactorily by the ald of a single cock. Efforts have been made before for performing this duty with a single cock, but they have been liable to throw out the oil by the violent escapeof the steam at certain junotures. At-

tempts have been made to remedy, but such have lalcked important requisites which my invention supp ies. I will proceed to describe what I consider the best means o f carrying out my invention, and afterward designate the point which I believe to be new.

The accompanying drawing forms a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section in the. plane of the'plug. It shows the provisions for receiving the oil luto a sucientlycapacious oil-cup above, and represents the plug proper inthe condition in which it vreceives the oil from such cup or reservoir, and holds it ready to be introduced into the steam-chest after the plug has been properly turned.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the plug of the oil-cock, and a horizontal section through the casing in the plane of the axis of the plug.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both the gures.

A is a casting, of brass or other suitable material, which forms the main body of the device. It is chambered, as represented, and adapted to contain the oil 1n a cup-like cavity in its upper portion, to receive the conical plugi in a nicely finished conical cavity near its center, and to allow the oil and steam to move through passages cored or drilled in its material, as represented.

There is a cover, A1, screwed in, which has a small cup-like topadapted to receive the oil from a lamptrimmer or other device, and let it down into the body of the reservoir. t

There is a tube extending up through the reservoir, as indicated by a. It is open at both ends.

B is a plug formed hollow, as represented, land adapted `to be turned by the. finger or by any suitable wrench. It turns tight-ly in the correspondng'conical recess in the casting A, and is held tightly therein by ascrew-cap, A. f

There may be a packing of twisted lamp-wick, or a like material, between the inner face of the cap A2 and the shoulder of the plug. Y

I will apply separate letters to each .of the separate passages-which are important.

There are passages cl c2 in the body A, which are in line with each other, and connect with the bottom of the reservoir, as represented.

There is a. hole, al, in the hollow plug B, which, when turned in the position represented, allows the oil to ow into the interior of the plug. When the' plug is reversed this orilice allows the oil to flow out into the passage c, and thence to enter the steamchest or other chamberwhich' my lubricator may be intended to supply.

Therclarel two other passages, li i, formed in the body or casting A. 'I he upper passage il is a continnation of the tube 'a. The lower passage i, is directly below'it, and, leading obliquely downward, communicates with the passage c, as represented.

There are three orilices in the hollow plug B which are iu the plane of these passages il i. As the-hollow plugBis slowly turned, these three orifices, Amarked respectivelyJtl k2 lo, coincide successively with either ofthe oriiicesi i2. v

The elect is not very marked when these orifices L* k2 k are moved across the upper end 'of the' lower passage i?. They then simply allow the oil toilow out through the passage @"2; but their relation is important when the hollow plug B is full of steam at a highv pressure, and the plug isturned so as to discharge it upward and receive the oil.

Fig. 2 shows their exact arrangement with reference to each other and to the main orifice d, through which the oil is received. W'hen the main orifice (l is in line with the passage '01, so as to receive the oil into the interior of the hollow plug, the small orifice k2 is in line or coincides with the passage il, and allows the steam,`air, or other.4

gaseous iuid which lls the plug B to dow out freely, and to be discharged quietly into the atmosphere through the medium of the pipe a, which carries it up through the oil. The other nholes kl kz on each side perform their duties ata previous stage while the plug is being turned.

This is important. The plug B, while in position for discharging the oil, becomes filled with steamat a pressure which exists within the steam-chest, of, say, eighty pounds per square inch.

As the plug is rotated 'from that position into a position to receive the oil,`it necessarily moves 'one of the holes le* 7c3 across the lower end of the passage il. In doing so most of the steam is discharged up through the pipe a, and when the proper positionis attained for receiving the oil, the pressure obtaining withinthe t hollow plug B is only that of the external'atmosphere.

By reason of the two holes t and It, arranged as represented, it is entirely immaterial which Way the plug is tmned. If turned in one direction it discharges its steam through the orifice k1. If turned in the other, it discharges it through the orifice 7:3. In either case it has suiiicient time to reduce the pressure by this discharge, so that, when the main orifice d is brought to coincide with the oil-orifice c, there is no pressure of steam within the hollow plug to ow out into the oil-cup, and, by throwing out 'the oil,V tol induce mischief.

It' preferred, the metal in the hollow plug B, bctween the small line k1 k2 7c3, may be removed by any suitable tool, so that, instead of the three. passages, it may have, in fact, but one long channel or slct as will-be readily understood; but such a construction would obviously weaken the plug, and I prefer to leave the material between these holes, as represented.

-In either event that portion of the cavity in the metal corresponding to k2, and that portion at each end corresponding to k1 and k3, will perform the functions here described, that is to say, in turning the plug in one direction the pressure will be relieved by its escape through the orifice k, or through the correspending part of the long slot which may he employed, and, in turning the plug in the other direction, the

'pressure will be relieved by the escape of the steam through the orifices k1, or through the end 'of the slot corresponding thereto` but, after the pressure by such discharge has been reduced to that of the atmosphere, and the oil has commenced to How in through the main channel cl and the hole (l, and thus to reduce the space for the steam or air remaining in the hollow plug, such steam or air is allowed to escape through the hole 7a, or through a corresponding portion of the slot which may take its place.

I am aware that many approximations to my invention have been before proposed. I do not claim a pipe or passage leading up throughthe oil-cup to discharge steam, except in connection with the plug` represented.

Many lnbricators haveA been before proposed pos-v sessing some' of the features of myimprovement, but

none have been able to accomplish the ends of miney as completely. Mine never subjects'the oil-cup proper to pressure, and does not require, like several of the best of the preceding, that the top of' the oil-cup shall be tightly closed. On the contrary, I provide for keeping it always open.

1. The cup-shaped cover A1, always open to receive oil, when arranged, as represented, relatively to the means below for transferring the oil into the steamchest against pressure by the aid of the cock and passages, as specified.

2. 'lhe hollow plug B, having the orices or vents d t k2 k arranged, relatively to each other and to the passages in the casting A, as and furthe purposes herein set forth.

In testimonywhereoi` I have hereunto set my name Vin presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' v D, A. GREENE.

Witnesses WM.' O. DEY, R. RoULsTon. 

